There has been some significant British Columbia litigation about whether the British Columbia Personal Information Protection Act gives a grievor a right to have his identity obscured in an arbitration award.
On May 29th the British Columbia Labour Relations Board affirmed a decision by arbitrator Stan Lanyon on the issue.
Thr Board held that PIPA does bind a labor arbitrator, but that labor arbitrators nonetheless retain a discretion in deciding whether to grant a right of anonymity based on the “authorized by law” exception to the consent rule.
The Board also affirmed Arbitrator Lanyon’s finding that the arbitration process is “not a purely private dispute resolution mechanism,” that there is therefore a public interest in open proceedings and that there is a particular public interest in publishing the names of individuals who commit employment offences.
Look for an appeal on this very principled and important issue.
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